THE MEDITERRANEAN DARK AGE

by Exile and Eric Hartzell.

This scenario is a joint effort. The original scenario was the "Cross and 
Crescent" scenario that is normally included with the MGE package of Civ2. 
Although it was enjoyable, it had problems; Byzantine destroyers and 
ironclads, for example. One day, while searching for a Dark Age scenario on 
the web, I realized that the "Cross and Crescent" scenario, with some 
improvements, could be just what I was searching for. I took it upon myself 
to make some improvements in the graphics, units, wonders, and tech tree, 
with the result you see before you. On a whim, I decided to contact the 
original creator, Eric Hartzell, in texas to see what he would think of my 
modification of his scenario. To my delight, Mr. Hartzell was enthusiastic 
and gave me the go-ahead to finish up the project and place it on the web. 
The finished design is not too complex, as I tried to keep it simple.

THE UNITS:

Foot Units;

Warriors are the default w/a different graphic. Heavy Foot are the Phalanx 
w/ a different graphic. Archers are the default w/a different graphic, and 
are obsoleted w/the Crossbowmen tech. The Byzantines can also build the 
Legion unit, which is the same as the default w/a different graphic, but 
will go obsolete w/Medieval Church tech. Men-at-Arms are the best defensive 
unit, but only appear w/Medieval State tech. Armored foot are hard-hitting 
and expensive units, available only w/the Guilds tech. The Battleaxes unit 
is a European-only unit w/amphibious landing capability. The Byzantines can 
build the Imperial Guard unit, available w/Medieval States tech. Crossbowmen 
are available w/the Crossbowmen tech. Other special units include the Peasant 
Revolt unit, available w/Three-field Farming tech and the Fanatics unit, 
available w/the Fundamentalism tech, though the latter unit is both weaker 
and cheaper than the default unit of the same name. 

Horse Units;

Horseback Riding tech provides all civs w/both the Light Horse and Horse 
Archers units. Both have 2-space sighting ability. The Light Horse unit is 
obsoleted by the Chivalry tech. Mailed Horse represents several different 
types of horsed units, both Muslim and European. The Mailed Horse is 
relatively cheap and is a good unit in the field, though it lacks sufficient 
punch to assault walled cities. The Byzantines can build the deadly 
Cataphract unit and it will save them from early assaults. It is available 
w/the Feudalism tech. The Europeans can build the Heavy Horse unit, a heavier
version of the Mailed Horse available w/Feudalism tech. Later the Europeans 
can build the Knights unit, marginally better than the Heavy Horse and 
slightly more expensive, available w/the Chivalry tech. Tactics tech will 
provide all civs w/the Steppe Horse unit. This unit is intended to provide 
the non-Euro, non-Arab, and non-Byzantine players w/a hard-hitting late game 
unit. Additionally, both Europeans and Arab armies made a habit of hiring 
various Turkish nomad bands as mercenaries; Saragossan Mozarabs are a good 
example of this. Early in the game all civs can build the Mercenary cavalry 
unit, available w/the currency tech (you must pay them!) and obsolete w/the 
Feudalism tech. When they acquire the Slave Troops tech, the Arabs can build 
the Memluks unit.

Other Ground Units;

The Caravan is the default unit w/a different graphic, while the Trade Goods 
is the (Freight) renamed. Ambassadors are the default (Diplomat) w/a 
different graphic, while the Diplomats are the (Spies) renamed and given a 
new graphic. The Ambassadors are only available w/the Republic tech, go 
obsolete w/the Diplomacy tech, and the Diplomats become available w/the 
Diplomacy tech too. The Assassin is a very expensive unit, and is useful in 
taking stubbornly-held cities. It is available w/Monarchy, but goes obsolete 
w/Diplomacy tech. The Onager is the (Catapult) renamed. The Ballista is a 
powerful siege unit available w/Engineering tech and, together w/the 
Trebuchet, available w/Siege Warfare tech, will make the game very fluid as 
these units can break well-defended cities. Much later, the Gunpowder tech 
will give players the Bombard unit, representing the very early chemical 
weapons, even more powerful than the non-chemical siege engines. Moreover, 
the Gunpowder tech obsoletes all the non-chemical siege engines. The Peasants
unit is the default (Settlers) w/a different graphic and is obsoleted by the 
Three-field Farming tech, which makes the Settler unit available, which is 
the default (Engineer), but w/a different graphic.

Naval Units;

Both the Arabs and Byzantines are researching the Captive Labor tech at the 
start of the scenario and this tech will provide both w/the Galley and Heavy 
Galley units, which DO have the "trireme" disadvantage of foundering in heavy
seas. The Hulk unit [an idea borrowed from Bernard Brosing's "Cross and 
Crescent" scenario] is an undecked ship capable of carrying 2 units, one more
than the galleys, and also has the trireme disadvantage. It is available 
w/the Mapmaking tech and goes obsolete w/the Advanced Sails tech. The galleys
do not go obsolete. The Trader represents the small Mediterranean craft that 
conducted the day-to-day trade, usually between local ports. This unit is 
available w/the Seafaring tech and goes obsolete w/the Advanced Sails tech. 
The Longship is a European-only unit available w/Magnetism tech and is not 
obsoleted. It can carry 1 unit, as can the Trader. The real break in period 
naval technology comes w/the Advanced Sails tech which obsoletes many of the 
previous types and makes the Transport unit available. The Transport does NOT
have the trireme disadvantage and can carry 4 units, more than any of the 
prior ships. The Dromon unit, available w/the Advanced Design tech, is 
Byzantine-only, is not obsoleted, and packs a powerful punch, giving the 
Byzantine navy a powerful edge over its opponents. It is expensive, however. 
The Pirates unit is Arab-only, available w/Advanced Sails, is not obsoleted, 
and can carry 1 unit. This unit will tend to redress the balance of power at 
sea, though it is not as powerful as the Dromon, which uses the dreaded 
"Greek fire."

Note; some units have been placed with historical accuracy in mind and may 
prove disconcerting at the start of the scenario. For example, the Lombards, 
Arabs, and Visigoths all have at least 1 Cataphract unit. These units reflect
the core army of their respective nations, vetran cavalry units. There are 
also a scant few cities still producing legions, ordinarily a Byzantine-only 
unit, in some other parts of the world. If, playing as a non-Byzantine civ, 
you decide to switch production in the cities where these units are being 
produced, they cannot be re-selected. 

IMPROVEMENTS:

Several of the improvements are unaltered from the default game; the Bank, 
the University, etc. Some others are the same as the default, though 
w/different graphics; the Barracks, the Palace, the Marketplace, etc. Many 
others have been changed more substantially. Here is the list;

The Farms is the (Supermarket); available w/Three-field Farming tech
The Foundry is the (Manufacturing Plant); available w/the Foundries tech
The Garrison is the (Police Station); available w/the Republic tech
The Guild Hall is the (Factory); available w/the Guilds tech
The Improved Roads is the (Superhighways);available w/the City Plannning tech
The Merchants' Quarter is the (Stockmarket); available w/the Sea Republics t
The Shipyard is the (Port Facility); available w/the Engineering tech
The Town Council is the (Mass Transit); available w/the City Planning tech
The Windmill is the (Hydro Plant); available w/the Windmills tech
The Water Mill is the (Power Plant); available w/the Mill Dams tech
The World Port is the (Offshore Platform); available w/the World Trade tech
The Water Supply is simply the (Aquaduct) renamed
The Scholars is simply the (Library) renamed

WONDERS OF THE DARK AGE WORLD:

Wonder			Available	Obsolete	Default name
_____________________________________________________________________________

Arianism		Mysticism	Theology	Oracle
Arms Race		Mailed Horse	-		Darwin's Voyage
Barbarian Bribes	Masonry		Feudalism	Great Wall
Caliphate		Church Unity	-		Michaelangelo's
Cartography		World Trade	-		Apollo Program
Church Dominion		Medieval Church	-		Cure for Cancer
Civil Service		Medieval States	-		Adam Smith
Classical Heritage	Literacy	Monotheism	Great Library
Great Council		Theology	-		Bach's Cathedral
Greek Church		Pottery		-		Hanging Gardens
Hippodrome		City Planning	-		Shakespeare's Theatre
Mediterranean Trade	Mapmaking	Navigation	Lighthouse
Silk Trade		Trade		-		Marco Polo's Journey
State Piracy		Captive Labor	-		Magellan
Warrior Tradition	Feudalism	Gunpowder	Sun Tzu

Pyramids		Ceremonial B.	Trade		Pyramids
Colossus of Rhodes	Bronze Working	Trade		Colossus

Notes; the Greek Church is located at start in the Byzantine city of 
Thesalonica. The Pyramids and Arianism are located at start in the Arab city 
of Cairo. The Mediterranean Trade is located at start in the Arab city of 
Alexandria. The Colossus of Rhodes is located at start in the Byzantine city 
of Rhodes. Some wonders are already obsolete at the start of the game. 
Cartography does not allow the building of spaceship parts, it only reveals 
the map.

STRATEGY:

The central player in this scenario is obviously the Byzantine civ. The 
Empire is a huge affair, and will take some considerable work to bring it 
into a paying situation, not to mention defend it adequately. On most of the 
Imperial frontiers you will have a little time to develop things and prepare 
for war. It Italy and in Cilicia, however, the chances are that the Lombards 
and Arabs will simply not give you time to do this; war will probably break 
out very quickly after the game starts, especially if you set the game on the
higher difficulty settings. The Gothic position is interesting, and there is 
considerable room to create new cities in Iberia, but the Arabs are coming, 
and they are already researching the galley techs, while you are not. As the 
Visigoths, the player will be hard put to defend the coastlines. If the Arabs
get a foothold in Iberia, you will be faced with a long war. Additionally, 
you also will have the Franks continually testing your defenses in the north.
As the Franks, you must deal quickly with the Avars, the barbarian cities 
east of your empire, while watching the Goths & Lombards closely. An alliance
with the Byzantines is probably a good idea. You will have some time at the 
start if you finish off the Avars quickly enough. The Lombards are a tricky
position to play; you must prevent incursions of Frankish troops from the 
north while concentrating heavily on your natural enemy, the Byzantines. 
Italy is at the distant end of the Empire's reinforcement lines and an 
aggressive war can take full advantage of this. Besides the Byzantines, the 
Arab position is the most interesting to play. The Arabs are spread out 
around the inland sea, but are progressing quickly toward Iberia. The stray 
cities in the western Mahgreb will not hold out for long against a determined
effort. Even the AI will mop up these towns at a breakneck pace. Breaking the 
Byzantine lines of defense in Cilicia and eastern Anatolia will prove 
difficult, but there are prizes well worth winning in the region. The real 
test for the Arabs will be determining who controls the Mediterranean. 
Seaborne raiders can pick off towns up and down a lengthy coastline, 
stretching from Iberia to the Ionian Sea. Sicily is an especially worthwhile 
prize, with its large, wealthy cities, far from the Byzantine center. On the 
margins, the Slavs and Bulgars can be very challenging positions to play, if 
the big empires are AIs. The scenario is set up to allow you to recreate the 
Bulgarian Empire of the early Middle Ages. During this period, the Bulgars 
created untold havoc for the Byzantines, not only raiding the lower Balkan 
region, but challenging the Empire itself for control of Greece and Thrace. 
Likewise, the Slavs can also be played; try to recreate the various empires 
of south Slavs. During the period covered by the scenario, a Serbian Empire 
arose in a region that is almost completely vacant at the start of the game. 
Even with AIs playing the big empires, this task should prove both fun and 
challenging. The improvements in the game were selected with pollution in 
mind. It is not pollution, however, it is the plague. The period covered by 
the scenario is not the period normally associated with the Black Death of 
the 14th century, but various plague cycles did occur during these centuries.
If you build up your cities, you will have problems with this.

THANKS TO . . .

I have again borrowed copiously from those wonderful scenarios that came 
before me. However, let me say also that this scenario was actually developed
some months ago--only the finishing touches have been added recently. 
Nevertheless, credit where credit is due;

Several units, among them the Mailed Horse, Men-at-Arms, and Crossbowmen, 
were borrowed from Bernard Brosing's visually beautiful "Cross and Crescent" 
scenario. The Hulk, Longship, Peasant Revolt, Battleaxes, and Transport also 
came from this scenario. There is some overlap in period between the two 
scenarios, and his units clearly outclassed the default units, so . . .
The Mercenary, Fanatics, and Light Horse came from Markus Eklund's "Timur 
Khan" scenario. The Trader graphic came from his "Turks" scenario.
The Assassin, Armored Foot, and Heavy Horse graphics came from 
"ibewatson@aol.com"s "100 Years' War" scenario.
The Trebuchet graphic came from Harlan Thompson's "Mongols" scenario.
The Heavy Foot, Imperial Guard, Ambassador, and Diplomat came from the 
"Pendragon" scenario by an apparently anonymous author.
The 2 Galley units' graphics came from Harlan Thompson's "Vikings" scenario, 
although w/some small modifications.
The Legion graphic came from Jesus Balsinde's "Time of Thunder" scenario.
The Archer graphic came from Michael Jesenka's "Roman Empire" scenario.
The Cataphract graphic came from Carl Fritz's "Justinian" scenario.
The "People" gif came from the "Iran" scenario by Stephan Haertel.
The Steppe Horse graphic came from the "Great Game" scenario by Michael J. 
Daumen.
The Settler graphic came from the "Fall of Rome" scenario by Mark Laanen.
The Ballista graphic came from the "Death and Resurrection of an Empire" 
scenario by Mattias Koster (sorry, I don't know how to do "umlauts" Mattias)

Special Thanks to;
Carl Fritz for fixing the "city graphic" problem.
Bernard Brosing for changing the original bmp image to a gif so that it could
be used as a splash page.
And of course; Eric Hartzell, for being gracious enough to enthusiastically 
allow me to "improve" his original scenario. All I really did was add a few 
things and do some fixing. The wonderful map, city placement, unit placement,
and placed improvements were all setup by Mr. Hartzell. With such a 
stunningly good foundation, my alterations were simply icing on the cake.

Enjoy.
Exile1957@aol.com
Phenix Benton
Tulsa, Oklahoma (the "Benighted realm")
